1. Buttermilk and New Work! These postcards went off in the mail a few weeks ago. I hope they found homes as sweet as their waffles! (I love their story, it's one of my favorite projects that I've been developing!) And I finally put together another section of my portfolio for another style I've been working in - I had so much fun making these Tween samples this week:

2. Friday with friends at Kennedy Gallery From 5-8pm this Friday I will be sipping ginger ale, nibbling on crudité, and chatting with friends, surrounded by artwork from a fine group of local children's book illustrators (and authors). You can pop into G Willikers to buy a book and we will happily sign them! Bring the kids, and come meet: me, JoAnn Adinolfi, Tess Feltes, Ryan Higgins, David McPhail, Robert Squier, and Teri Weidner.

3. Saturday at Strawberry Banke Then on Saturday, bring the kids to Portsmouth for the Children's Author Festival. It's my first year participating but we brought the kids last year and they had a great time. I'll be signing books - hope to see you!

4. Sally Jones I've been reading this amazing, older middle-grade novel called The Murderer's Ape by Jakob Wegelius. I was fairly intimidated by the length of this book (I love a quick read) but my local bookseller gave it high praise and a compelling book talk (you are pretty amazing, Jill!). The premise is so unusual, but the story is just packed with travel, adventure, heart, and mystery. Bonus: the illustrations, by the author, are pitch-perfect.

5. The Best Kind of Five: Keene's Children's Literature Festival Last Saturday I set out in the dark pre-dawn hours with my friend Vita Lane for Keene State College's final Children's Literature Festival. It was a day full of inspiration and books. We got to hear the following five authors and illustrators speak on their craft, their current work, their starts in the field, and the things that inspire them: Daniel Salmieri, Grace Lin, David Elliott, Sophie Blackall, and Brian Floca